Friday, June 24, 2016

13 reasons why Friday the 13th part 2 rocks!

13 reasons why Friday the 13th part 2 rocks!

Still in full swing Vacation mode, I'm currently sitting in my living room, A.C on full blast, iced coffee by my side, and one of my all time favorite Friday the 13th sequels playing on the Syfy channel.

This of course being Friday the 13th part 2.

This sequel has grown on me over the years and it is by far in my top 3 favorite Friday the 13th movies. Today to celebrate our second week of Staystillreview's sensational summer which is Camp slasher themed, I decided to list off 13 reasons why this movie rocks!

1) Jason was played by a woman in the beginning!

- Yep that's right, in the VERY beginning when we see Jason's legs after the little girl is called in side, this was the only time ever in the series that Jason was played by a woman.

2) Alice's death.

- What a way to shift to the sequel, tying up any loose ends from the original. I always loved this long opening showing Alice tossing and turning have nightmares about the events in the first film. This entire opening is supposed to take place two or so months after what originally happened at Camp Blood. Alice has moved into town and is trying to deal with what's happened. Clearly, she still isn't over it. I love how exchange on the phone with her mother, stating that this is the only way she knows how to deal with what happened, and the haunting sketches of Brenda all over her kitchen. While Alice's death is sudden and very unexpected, I loved how Jason still continued his rampage even after the person responsible for his mother's death was killed. Seeing his mother's rotting head in the fridge made it for me as well as Jason taking the tea kettle off the stove. He may be a crazed psychopath, but he doesn't want to burn the building down!

3) Cast of likable characters.

- Very few slashers actually have casts of likable young adults. Here instead of campers, we meet the batch of young 20 somethings who are enlisted in a counselor training program on the same lake as Camp Blood. Here we meet another batch of characters with some of the same personalities we might have seen before. The jokester, the horny couple, ect. Still, I've always really enjoyed the first half of the movie before all the killing began. Maybe it's just me but I really liked seeing these guys all together. Most of all them getting shit faced at the bar. Ned had me dying, most of all with his tow-truck prank on Jeff and Sandra.

4) Paul's campfire story.

- Just like The Burning made the same exact year, the tale of the killer who once stalked these woods are told before someone wearing a mask jumping out scaring the living shit out of everyone. (I for one know for a fact I would have gotten up and ran until I was in the next state) this scene is so memorable it was not only used again in The Final Chapter, but The New Blood as well. The best moment of course is while Paul is telling the legend of Jason and his mother you see Scott nervously look over his shoulder. Classic.

5) The return of Ralph

- You're all doomed! Yep, another awesome returning character from the first film is old crazy Ralph who has a small, but memorable cameo trying to warn the new batch of counselors who are heading to the lake. Plus that death of his! Brutal!

6) Jason -pre-hockey mask.

- When you think of Jason you think of a hockey mask. Well, believe it or not Jason didn't get his mask until part 3. In this installment he wears a sack over his head which is both terrifying and charming as well.

7) Mark's final ride.

- You know this movie isn't taking any prisoners when they kill off a character who's in a wheelchair and states that he isn't planning on spending the rest of his life in the chair. (Jesus) Still, Mark's death not only is one of the most brutal, it also features one of the craziest stunts in the entire film!

8) The fact we haven't seen the uncut version yet.

- Besides a few photographs the official release of the uncut version of this movie still isn't available. I'm down right shocked this hasn't been added as a special feature on any of the blu-rays that have been released. I mean if part 1 has been uncut why not this one? Same goes with part 7. Sure the footage is old and on old home video tapes but WHO CARES?! I want do see Jeff and Sandra's death in all of it's glory.

9) Ginny, the best final girl in the entire series.

- If I had to honestly choose my all time favorite final girl from any Friday the 13th movie I would have to pick Ginny. Not only is she a fan favorite, but she kicks ass! Not afraid to call her boyfriend/boss out on his bullshit, she's a leader, spunky, adorable, a child psychology major (which comes in handy later) and fights back. I mean very few people have actually chased after Jason with a chainsaw (Yes, I know Pam from part 5 but that really doesn't count) She uses her head, and survives. Such a shame she never returned for more sequels.

10) The "rat" scene.

-One of the most argued moments from this film is when Ginny is being stalked around the camp grounds by Jason and hides underneath one of the bunks. Jason enters the cabin, looking around as Ginny tries her hardest to stay still. That's when a large rat runs underneath the bunk, and goes right next to Ginny who looks ten times more terrified by this furry little friend and snaps her eyes shut. Just as Jason is about to leave he pauses and looks down. There a pool of piss forms from beneath the bunk. Many fans have argued saying that it was the rat that peed (...) yeah okay. Just another reason why this slasher is so realistic.

11) Jason's layer.

-Even a crazed killer needs a place to hang his hat. Sure the whole backstory of Jason not actually being dead is a little far fetched (I mean really, where was he this whole time? Why didn' he join his mother?) this huge gap in the plot has always bothered me but hey, it's a slasher...we're not about to win any awards for screenplay writing (...) Still, one of the creepiest moments is when the sheriff is leaving Paul's and sees Jason dart across the road into the woods. Why you would want to follow him is beyond me but still, seeing his little shack is very unsettling.

12) Mrs. Voorhees' return.

- The late Betsy Palmer returned once more to play Jason's crazy mother. We see her cut off head not once but twice! Love Jason's little room devoted to her, with the corpses of Terry and Alice laying around it. The best part of course has to be when Ginny needs to think fast and puts on the old dirty sweater and tucks her hair back, trying to fool Jason into thinking his mother is still alive. Only a few people in this film series actually used their brains, (Tommy Jarvis) but Ginny takes the cake. This scene is creepy and heartbreaking at the same time.

13) The unknown ending.

- Was it a dream? Was that Jason attacking Ginny? Where's Paul? This movie leaves us with many unanswered questions but the only piece of mind we'll have as an audience is that Ginny survived. As for Paul? Maybe he's in the woods playing with bears...